Planning Never Worked Well for Them Anyway
by bettertoflee
Summary: Aria has something she needs to tell Ezra, but first she has to work up the courage to spit it out. Ezria one-shot. Fluff. If looking to read chronologically, this comes after An EngAgement.


**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Just a fun Ezria one-shot... enjoy.**

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Aria sits nervously on the edge of Ezra's couch. She looks over at the clock… he should be home any minute. The engagement ring on her left hand feels extra heavy, and a million things race through her mind as she stares at the reflection being cast on the wall opposite her. She thought getting engaged was a big change… well, it was. But this was much bigger.

She hears footsteps approach the door, the key enter the lock, the knob turn… Aria's heart is pounding in her chest by the time Ezra's body is passing through the threshold.

"Hi," she says, hopping up and going over to meet him the second he closes the door.

"Hi yourself," he says, leaning down to give her a tender kiss. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," she says. It's the truth… for the most part.

"Good. You will not believe number of high schoolers we had come through The Brew today. I don't know if it's just the fact that school is out, or that summer is right around the corner, or what, but if teens put as much effort into their coursework as they do hanging out with their friends, Rosewood High might have a higher overall…" he stops his monologue short when he notices Aria biting her lip.

He had moved into the kitchen to place his bag on the table but Aria was still standing in the entryway.

"Are you sure you're feeling better?" he asks her. He goes over and takes one of her hands in his, placing his other across her forehead. "You don't feel warm, but if you're still feeling sick, we should probably take you to see the doctor."

"I'm fine," she says, shaking her head. The words are out of her mouth before she can even think about how silly it will seem after she just _says_ what needs to be said. Her heart is starting to pound in her chest again. Just as she thinks she's worked up the courage to spit it out, Ezra places his lips to her forehead (a final attempt at assessing for a temperature, she knows it is…) and leans away, dropping the hand he had been holding so that it resumes it's place at her side.

She's about to open her mouth when he speaks again.

"Mike called me today. He wants to go fishing next weekend. What do you think?"

"That's nice," she says, trailing off. "I mean, that's nice of him to invite you. Do you want to go?" She watches him as he unloads stacks of paperwork from his bag.

"Yeah, I do. I know Mike and I have done things in the past, but I feel like that was under different circumstances. I'd like to get to know him a little better, you know?" He turns to look at her, a group of pages still flopping in his hand. "I was actually thinking… maybe I could invite Wes, you know, if Mike doesn't mind. I'd like for my brother and my future brother-in-law to get to know each other. Do you think this is a good time, or should I wait? I don't want Mike to think I'm being pushy, or…" he stops mid-sentence.

Aria quickly realizes she's zoned out again. She moves her features and licks her lips, trying her best to seem in the moment. She knows she must have that look again. That overly-anxious-I-have-something-I-need-to-say look… the one that keeps giving him pause.

Before he has a second to ask her again, she speaks up. "I swear I feel fine. Don't worry."

"Well you don't look fine," he says, a little irritated this time. "What's going on?"

She can't believe she's freezing like this. Of all the ways she imagined sharing this news with him… this was never one of her scenarios.

"I think you should go," she says, forcing herself to take a few steps into the room. She goes over to the refrigerator and takes out the jar of pasta sauce, leftover from last week and nearly empty. Opening a cabinet, she takes out a new jar, as well as an unopened box of pasta. "Are you still all right with spaghetti tonight? I went to the grocery, but I got kind of sidetracked. I didn't pick up much aside from the ingredients for dinner with my parents tomorrow night."

"Spaghetti sounds good, I think there's some frozen garlic bread in the freezer if you want," he says. Aria's back is to him as she fills a pot with water, but she chances a glance in his direction. For the time being he's redirected his attention to the papers in front of him.

"What do you have there?" she asks, telling herself that making simple conversation will help her ease into telling him the news that's been weighing her down for the better part of the day. She should have given more thought to _how_ she'd make the announcement. This was a game changer. This had the potential to change all of their plans… and yet, here she was, making spaghetti.

"Well, Emily had a great idea. She suggested we expand a bit and add an addition on to the back for more café seating. We've been a little crowded. The Radley is a nice place to grab a bite, but it's a little expensive. The Grille is great, but we don't really have the same vibe..." He continues to flip through the paperwork as he speaks, and Aria's thankful that she has a moment to watch his movements. "We've had a lot of people in recently but not really enough seating for those looking to have more than a cup of coffee."

"That sounds like a great idea," Aria says, moving over to the stove. She turns the burner on and lets the water start to heat up and gets the bread from the freezer. Suddenly, a thought hits her. "What if instead of going back, you go up?"

Ezra looks up from where he's sitting at the table and stares at her quizzically for a moment, not quite understanding what she's getting at. In all honesty, Aria hasn't even processed the thought one hundred percent.

"You do know that would mean we'd have to find another place to live, right?" he jokes. He flashes her one of his trademark grins letting her know he's teasing. She's glad that the idea didn't upset him. She hadn't been thinking clearly, inadvertently implying that she didn't love living above the coffee shop. She decides to test the waters while she's got his attention.

"I was just thinking, if it's more space you need, you've got a really nice spot up here, and it's all fixed up and everything. I mean, of course you'd have to do some remodeling, but surely that's less expensive than adding a whole room off the back. And the bedroom is on a whole separate floor – this could be a really neat space for café seating."

Aria is surprised to see that he looks open to the idea, and she decides to push a little further.

"Eventually you and I are going to want more space anyway, right? I mean, do you intend to keep The Brew, or do you think you'd like to go back to teaching? Is there any reason to keep this area as a loft once we find another place?"

"I didn't know you had such negative feelings about living here," he teases, knowing that's not the case. There have been several mornings when he's left her in bed, just to rush down to open the shop and bring back fresh coffee and baked goods. He knows better than to think Aria has any kind of problem living above a coffee shop. "What's got you thinking about moving?" he asks.

The water on the stove has started to boil and Aria goes over, breaking the pasta as she drops handfuls into the pot. She gives it a good stir before heading back over to lean on the island counter, looking over at Ezra as she starts to open the box of garlic bread.

"I don't know," she says, even though she does know. She knows very well what has her thinking of moving. She's about to say, ' _I just think it might be nice to have an extra room, or a front yard'_ when the smell of garlic hits her like a brick wall. She can feel the bile rising up in her chest and can tell by the look on Ezra's face that there must not be much color left to her complexion. "Oh, god," she says, before rushing off toward the bathroom.

"Aria –" Ezra calls, only a few steps behind her.

By the time he reaches the door, she's already thrown open the lid of the toilet and has her head hanging over the bowl, dry heaving whatever might possibly be left of breakfast. She'd avoided lunch… for obvious reasons.

"I thought you said you were feeling better," Ezra chides as he runs a washcloth under the faucet and wrings it out, placing the cool cloth along the back of her neck. He crouches down so that he's level with her. "Do you want some water? Why don't you go lay down, I'll finish dinner."

"I'll be all right," she says, leaning back and giving him a weak smile. "I promise I'm fine. Better than fine, actually. Didn't even throw up, see?" She takes the cloth off her neck and runs it along across her lips, wiping away the thought of throwing up.

"Better than…" he reaches out and brushes a strand of hair behind her ear. "Come on, at least come sit on the couch." He takes the washcloth out of her hand and tosses it by the sink, sure he'll need it again later, then pulls her to her feet. Before he's able to coax her elsewhere, she stops him in the hall between the bathroom and the rest of the main floor.

"Ezra, wait," she says. She lets go of his hands and flips the switch behind him, flooding the small hall with light. "I have zero idea how to tell you this. But…" A smile starts to creep over her face; she can't help it. All the anxiety and uncertainty she'd been feeling when thinking of telling him when he walked through the door has dissipated. "We really need to think of getting a bigger place," she says.

"Okay," he says, uncertainty and confusion evident in his voice. He cocks his head, unsure of what's coming next. "Why?"

Aria takes his face in her hands and traces his brow with each of her thumbs, wanting to memorize every inch of his face as she says what comes next. She lets her arms rest on his shoulders, her hands folded behind his neck.

"Because we're going to need another bedroom."

It takes a minute for her words to register and when they do, Aria's smile goes from shy to giddy. The wrinkles at the edge of his eyes shoot back toward his temples, the dimples in his cheeks are like caverns, and he's looking at her like she alone carries the power to light the moon and the stars.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" He moves his hands to hold each of her wrists, looking down at her petite frame in awe. "You're kidding me."

"I'm not," she says between bursts of laughter.

"You're _kidding_ me," he says again, in happy disbelief. He releases one hand and motions between their bodies and the bathroom. "You mean, this whole time…"

There is so much light between them that the bulb above them could burst and no one would be any the wiser.

"Yes," Aria says, stepping back a little and covering her mouth as she laughs. "I found out today."

"Aria," he says, reaching down and taking her face in both his hands. In a moment of unbelievable joy, he eases her back so that she's gently pressed against the wall and captures her mouth, sliding his tongue along hers. He can't help but smile into their kiss as he runs a hand down her neck, along her shoulder, and down her back. He lets it trail along her waist, lingering when he reaches the front and his palm is resting across her abdomen. He breaks their kiss only to move his attention to her neck. Slowly, he makes his way up to her ear. "We're pregnant," he whispers.

It's not a question, but a statement.

She can hear the happiness in his voice.

Planning never worked well for them anyway.

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 **Let me know what you thought! PM me if you have a request... I am always up for one-shot suggestions.**


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